Category Archives: Devotional Studies Through the Bible

Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>God Finishes What He Starts

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Behold, I am with you
and will keep you wherever you go,
and will bring you back to this land;
for I will not leave you
until I have done
what I have promised you.
Genesis 28:15
 
Isaac sent Jacob to the land of Paddan-aram. This is where Rebekah’s brother lived. Isaac sent Jacob to find himself a wife. Rebekah would have no part of her favorite son being married to a Canaanite woman. This also was her excuse to protect Jacob from Esau, whom she had heard was out to kill him over the birthright blessing.
 
Isaac placed the blessing of Abraham on to Jacob before he sent him. However, it did not become concrete until God Himself spoke this blessing upon Jacob. Isn’t this the way it is with us? We can pray blessings over our children. We can raise them up in the ways and knowledge of God, but in all that we do, God does not become real to them until they have had their own distinct and personal encounter with Him.
 
In this chapter, the Lord appears to Jacob in a dream. This Lord, who was the God of his father Abraham and the God of his father Isaac, would now soon become the God of Jacob.
 
God promises Jacob that He will not leave him until He has done what He has promised him. I believe these words of God speak past the pages of Genesis. These words tell me that God is still with Jacob, still with his descendants, for God has yet to finish all of what He has promised.
 
Even though thousands of years have passed, do not think that God is slow concerning His promise, for God is always on time. The descendants simply are not yet all born.
 
Galatians 3:29 declares, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.”
 
In John 1:12–13 we read, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
 
No, precious one, God is not slow concerning His promise; He is patient. He is waiting for the birth of all His children, for He will see us all safe in the land He has promised.
Are you born in Him?
 
Oh Father,
 
What peace this promise gives me—to know that You will not leave me until You have done what You have promised. Philippians 1:6 says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Oh Father, You have promised to bring me to Yourself, so I wait for You and I long for the day that I will be with You. Father, I am so thankful for Your personal call on my life. It is an intimate and personal salvation. You are not simply the God of Israel, the God of the church, the God of my parents; You are my God. I know You, and You know me. I must worship You in solitude before I can worship You corporately. I must worship You on this earth before I can worship You in heaven. Oh Father, I walk with You even if no one else walks with You because I know that with You as my God, I never walk alone.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>Worldly Sorrow vs Godly Sorrow

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So Esau lifted his voice and wept.
Genesis 27:38
 
In Genesis 25:27–34, Esau gave us an example of the power of the flesh when he chose the bowl of stew over his birthright. Esau chose the temporal over the eternal. He despised his birthright and considered it of no more value than a single meal, and now he is experiencing the consequences of his choice.
 
Esau returns from the hunt to receive his blessing to discover that the blessing has already been given to Jacob. Esau then begins to weep, yet his sorrow is worldly sorrow, not heavenly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9–10). Esau cries the same tears that Cain cried in Genesis 4:13–14. He weeps only for himself and the consequences he will suffer. His sorrow is not one that leads to repentance, but one that comes from selfishness and leads only to death.
 
In Hebrews 12:15–17 we are warned to be sure that no one comes short of the grace of God. We are warned that there be no immoral or godless persons like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. When he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, no matter how many tears he cried, because his tears were not tears of repentance.
 
How many of us will stand before the throne of God on the day of our judgment and pour out tears of sorrow without repentance, having despised our birthright through the blood of Jesus Christ, having chosen the pleasures of this present world over the eternal kingdom of Christ?
 
Esau didn’t realize that the birthright was the blessing. He only saw the loss of ownership of his father’s earthly treasures. Our birthright is eternal life through being “born again” (John 3:3), our adoption as God’s child through the redemption of Jesus Christ on the cross (Romans 8:15–17).
 
When we refuse Christ, we refuse the Holy Spirit and we deny our birthright. “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking” (Hebrews 12:25).
 
Oh precious one, what blessing of your Father do you seek?
 
Do you seek the blessing of health, wealth, and prosperity?
Or do you seek the blessing of God in Christ Jesus?
 
“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (Psalm 32:1–2).
 
Oh Father,
 
How I thank You for my life, my new life in Christ. Oh Father, help me to keep my heart soft and quick to repent. May my tears be tears of repentance and Godly sorrow. In those moments that I fail You, this is the promise You have given: that is if I confess my sins, You will be faithful to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). I know that You know my heart, and in this I rejoice and in this I fear, but more do I rejoice.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>How Good Is Your Word?

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Then Isaac trembled violently,
and said,
“Who was he then that hunted game
and brought it to me,
so that I ate of all of it before you came,
and blessed him?
Yes, and he will be blessed.”
Genesis 27:33
 
This chapter in Scripture is one that hurts my heart to read. Isaac has grown old, and he feels his time of death is drawing near. He calls in Esau to give him the blessing of the firstborn. Rebekah overhears this conversation, and she desires that Jacob have this blessing, not Esau. She then goes to Jacob and begins to scheme to take this blessing from Esau.
 
I hate the deceiving of Isaac. I am sure that had Jacob gone to his father and told him of how Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, Isaac would have willingly blessed Jacob with the right of the firstborn. Jacob, however, with the encouragement of his mother, chose to deceive his father.
 
Rebekah had been told by God in Genesis 25:23 that Esau would serve Jacob, yet once again we have another example in Scripture where we try to “help God out” and end up making a huge mess. When will we come to the full understanding that we can take God at His every word?
 
What I find even more staggering in this chapter is that once Isaac had spoken his blessing, he couldn’t and wouldn’t take it back. Isaac knew the power of his word. He knew that blessings come from God alone. He knew that he could not take back the blessing that had been uttered because he knew that God had given it.
 
The Scripture says that Isaac “trembled violently”(Genesis 27:33). I do not believe that he trembled on behalf of Esau’s lost blessing. I believe Isaac trembled from the hurt and disappointment that comes from a parent deceived by his child.
 
We take God at His word when He offers salvation, and He takes us at our word when we ask to receive that salvation. I was raised to not make promises I could not keep, and if I made a promise, no matter what, I was to keep it. I was always told that I was only as good as my word. There once was a day when a person’s word was solid and binding. There once was a day when a verbal contract was as binding as a written one and a handshake confirmed an oath.
 
In Matthew 12:36 Jesus says, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.”
 
Precious one, God has not changed. Our world has changed, but God has not. God’s word is solid and binding, and I believe that He still holds us accountable for the words of our mouth.
 
Oh Father,
 
Help me to remember that I need to be careful not to allow careless words to proceed out of my mouth. Oh Father, forgive me for the times that I have spoken out of ignorance and anger and frustration. Help me, Father, to always be a person of my word, a person that others can trust with security that my word will be kept. Oh Father, may I honor You with the words of my mouth; may my speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6).
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>It’s Personal

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The Lord appeared to him the same night
and said,
“I am the God of your father Abraham;
Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bless you,
and multiply your descendants,
for the sake of My servant Abraham.”
So he built an altar there
and called upon the name of the Lord.
Genesis 26:24–25
 
In Genesis 26:2 we have the first recording of the Lord appearing and speaking directly to Isaac. God himself passes on the Abrahamic Covenant to Isaac. This covenant is an unconditional covenant. It is not man’s to earn, man’s to pass on, nor is it man’s to lose. God himself is the guarantor of this covenant. God also lets Isaac know that the fullness of this blessing is being passed on to him because of the obedience of his father, Abraham.
 
In this section of Scripture we see how God honors obedience, even to the point of honoring our children and our children’s children. Have you ever considered the impact that your present obedience is going to have on the future, especially the future of those who watch you and walk with you in your everyday life?
 
It is through God that all blessings flow. Isaac had been living in the blessings of the God of his father. However, Isaac still needed to call upon the name of the Lord and for himself receive the greatest blessing of all; the turning of his heart from his own wicked ways (Acts 3:25–26).

Romans 10:13 declares, “for whoever will call on the name of the Lord-will be saved.” Paul is quoting Joel 2:32, a prophet in the Old Testament Scriptures. The way of salvation has never changed.

 
From the beginning, all the way back to the salvation of Adam and Eve, only those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Salvation is an individual experience. I cannot save my children. I cannot force them to call upon the name of the Lord. I can show them the way, but I cannot make them walk in it. This decision is one they must make alone with God.
 
Isaac had been living in the blessings of God given to his father Abraham, just as our children live in the blessings that God has given us. We may be able to pass on the physical blessings of God to our children (material things, relationships, stories), but we cannot pass on the greatest blessing of all, the turning of their hearts from their own wicked ways.
 
Our children and those around us—and maybe even we ourselves—might be presently living in the blessings of another’s obedience, but the blessing of eternal salvation is personal.
 
We can be living in the midst of a godly home, or we can be members of a Spirit-filled church and be covered in the love of its members and feel great every time we walk out the doors from the experience, but this does not save us.
 
We can experience the Holy Spirit of God, but experiencing Him does not save us. We must humble ourselves before Him and call upon the name above all names, the name by which all men may be saved, the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
 
Our parents’ obedience can’t save us, and neither can our obedience save our children. Individually we must walk in obedience to His Word, receiving His offer of salvation by faith.
 
As Abraham was able to set the example for his son, for his nation, for the world, so we are able to set the example to those around us. Through our obedience we show those around us that God’s Word is true, but we can only be saved through our own personal obedience from the heart to the things we have been taught. We each must individually stand in the gospel of God.
 
Do you stand in the gospel of God (Romans 1:1–6)?
Have you become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were committed (Romans 6:17)?
 
Oh Father,
 
I desire no blessing more than I desire the blessing of belonging to You. I will seek to know You more and strive to be as close to You as I possibly can while in this body of flesh. My Jesus, fill me; may Your Holy Spirit consume me. Oh Father, I am a stranger in this land, an alien on this earth. The kingdom I belong to is not of this realm (John 9:36). Yet while I am here, may I be an accurate ambassador for the kingdom of Christ. Oh Father, might I live this life in obedience to You, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of my children and all who are watching me. May I be set apart through my obedience to Your truth so that others may be able to trust in my word and believe in Christ for salvation (John 17:19–20).
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>Choices

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Esau said, “Behold I am about to die;
so of what use then is the birthright to me?”
Genesis 25:32
 
In Genesis 25, we meet Esau and Jacob, twin brothers, sons of Isaac, and sibling rivals from the womb. We meet them as newborns and then immediately as men, or at least no longer boys.
 
We read of Jacob tempting Esau with some stew. If you have more than one child, I bet you have witnessed a scene similar to this played out in your own home. For that matter, you might recall having been a part of a moment similar to this one that we read about in the Scriptures.
 
We can go all the way back to the garden and see that from then until present day, the way of temptation has not changed. When the enemy of our souls is able to get us focused on our appetites, on our emotions, and on our pride, we stumble and oftentimes we fall. Esau falls for the temptation.
 
Esau is a man completely focused on the temporal. His main concern is the here and now and his immediate satisfaction. He is only focused on the growling of his stomach, and he doesn’t even contemplate for a moment the price he is about to pay for this one bowl of stew, that “red stuff.” Esau is a man who makes his decisions according to the pleasure of the moment and the gratification of his flesh. He is not concerned about the possible consequences that could come as a result of such hasty decisions.
 
How many of us are living in the consequences of decisions made focused on immediate gratification?
 
God’s Word tells us that we are not to look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). He warns us in Romans 8:6–8 that the mind set on the flesh is death and is hostile toward God and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
 
Our flesh demands immediate gratification. Our flesh wants to feel good, but if we are in Christ, we are not to obey our flesh. In Christ we have the power to say no when before Him we were completely helpless.
 
Our flesh doesn’t see the big picture. It is not concerned with the future. It is not concerned about anyone or anything. Our flesh simply wants its own way, and it wants it in the now.
 
Esau’s desire for this one bowl of red stuff changes the history of his entire future and his children’s future. Esau’s decision cost him his birthright, his claim to be the leader of the family after the death of Isaac. It cost him his right to receive a double portion of the inheritance of Isaac. Esau’s choice went deeper than just a bowl of stew.
 
Esau’s choice gives us insight into the condition of his heart, just as our choices give us insight into the condition of our own hearts. What do your choices in life tell you about your heart?
 
Oh Father,
 
When we have called on Jesus Christ for salvation, when we have repented and turned to You through Him, we are filled with Your Holy Spirit, and through Him we receive power to not be slaves to our flesh. Oh Father, help me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and to focus on the things above and not the things that are on this earth Oh Father, might You give me a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of You
(Ephesians 1:17).
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name that I pray,
Amen.
 
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>Power of a Praying Husband

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Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren;
and the Lord answered him
and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Genesis 25:21
 
Once again we see the power of prayer, this time through Isaac as he prayed on behalf of his wife. I believe Isaac was interceding on behalf of his wife and not asking on behalf of himself. Here we see how a godly man is to respond to the concerns of his wife.
 
I am sure Rebekah’s heart was aching over her inability to conceive. Isaac, especially at this point in history, could easily have chosen to put Rebekah away and choose another wife that would bear him a son, but Isaac loved Rebekah.
 
Isaac also knew the miracle of his own birth. He knew that the God of his father, Abraham, had the power to open and close the womb and the power to give man strength and the power to take it away. Isaac also knew that through him all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. He knew that his father’s descendants were to be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.
 
In this knowledge and in this faith, Isaac sought the mercy of God upon his wife. God honored his prayer, and Rebekah did conceive.

As her belly grew, she felt a great struggle within her, and Rebekah went to inquire of the Lord. This is the first recording in Scripture of a woman seeking God in prayer.

God holds no partiality for male or female.
 
I believe God is the originator of women’s rights. He created male and female, both in His image. His ears are equally open to the prayers of men and women. He hears our prayers, and He always give answers to those who have truly sought his grace.
 
Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
 
God is available to all and will answer any who seek his face. God’s ear does not open or close according to our gender, race, or nationality. God’s ear opens and closes according to our hearts and according to our attitudes.
 
James writes that we do not have because we do not ask, and when we do ask it is with the wrong motives (James 4:2–3). Isaac would not complain about his wife being barren when he had not yet asked God for a child. Rebekah did not complain about the pain in her belly without first inquiring of God. God’s ear was open to them both. Our sin is the only thing that separates us from Him, male or female.
 
Oh Father,
 
Help me to keep my heart pure so that when I come before Your throne in prayer, I come with the right motives. When others’ concerns come before me, may I immediately come before You and lift them up to You in prayer. Oh Father, may I not be guilty of  complaining about not having when I have never even come before You and asked.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.

Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>Answered Prayers

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He [Abraham’s servant] said,
“O Lord, the God of my master Abraham,
please grant me success today,
and show lovingkindness
to my master Abraham.”
Genesis 24:12
 
God answers our prayers. He sometimes answers our prayers before we are even through praying. Abraham sent his servant out to find a wife for Isaac, but not just any wife, God’s choice wife. Abraham’s servant prayed for the Lord’s guidance. Before he had finished speaking in his heart, God sent Rebekah, the woman who was to be Isaac’s wife.
 
We have asked our youngest child many times if she would like to pray and have had her respond, “I prayed to God in my heart.” It amazed her when she learned that God could hear her heart.
 
In 1 Samuel 1:13 we read of Hannah in the temple praying, and “she was speaking in her heart.”
 
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:6, “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
 
I believe this inner room, this secret place, is our heart.
 
These words of Christ are relevant even to those who are praying out loud. Anytime we pray, whether in silence or out loud, so that others might share in our prayer, we need to first go into our “inner room,” our heart. We can say beautiful, fluent words out loud for others to hear, but God hears what is in our hearts.
 
How many times have we been a hypocrite in our public prayers, praying words we did not really believe God would hear or asking for help that we really did not expect God to give? Oh, precious one, might the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in God’s sight (Psalm 19:14).
 
The desire of Abraham’s servant was to please his master. His prayer was offered from a sincere heart. His prayer was offered in sure expectation that God would hear and answer. When Abraham’s servant understood that God had immediately and obviously answered his prayer he bowed before God and worshiped. When we get such immediate responses to the cries of our heart, are we as quick to bow down before our God?
 
 “Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him” (Psalm 28:6–7).
 
May we never forget to give God all the glory for our answered prayers. May we not for one minute think that our answer came out of any ability of our own. Let us not give credit to chance or coincidence. Let us not boast in luck. Let us know that it was our God and give Him His praise.
 
We cannot leave this chapter without taking one more look at our hearts. Let us ask, how are our hearts in response to a call from God? The servant shares his answered prayer with Rebekah and with her family, who just so happened to be relatives of Abraham. Rebekah doesn’t look at the servant of Abraham and say, “Let me pray about it, and I’ll get back to you on that.” She is quick to respond to this opportunity with obedience and goes with the servant to meet the man who will be her husband.
 
How many times have you asked God for a sign to confirm something that he was speaking to your heart? How many times have you then asked for a sign to confirm the sign? May our hearts be more like the example that Rebekah gives us here. The signs were clear, and she did not hesitate. When we hear our God call, may we say, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).
 
Oh Father,
 
How deserving You are of our worship. I thank You for Your guidance. I thank You for Your provisions. I thank You for Your faithfulness. How great You are, my God. You are worthy of all my praise. I bow before You, for I know that You hear all, see all, and know all. My heart is open and laid bare before You. Oh Father, may the prayers of my mouth come from the prayers of my heart. May I never wait to give You the glory for the prayers You answer. May I learn to respond with ready obedience to every opportunity that You have placed before me.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>Worth the Cost

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Sarah died in Kiriath-arba
(that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan;
and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah
and to weep for her.
Genesis 23:2
 
Abraham is seeking a burial place for his wife, Sarah. In his search, we see how those who walk with God and honor Him receive respect even from those who do not know Him as their God. In Abraham’s respect of God, Abraham respected other people. He kept himself humble before others and allowed God alone to exalt him. First Peter 5:5–6 declares, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”
 
Abraham did not think highly of himself because of his relationship with God, and he did not consider those who did not serve the Lord Most High as lesser than he. Oh church, let us not get too big for our britches.
 
Abraham refused to allow Ephron the Hittite to simply give him the land. He would pay the price of the land. I am reminded of David as he stood at the threshing floor of Araunah and said, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24).
 
How many in the church feel they are owed something? How many walk through the doors of the sanctuary with their lists of “I wants” and hold their years of service and their tithes given as a badge of entitlement? How many have this attitude that God now owes them something because they said yes to His free gift of salvation?
 
This gift is free to us because someone else paid the price. God was willing to give us His everything. We should also be willing to give Him our everything. We should have the same spirit in us that was in the church in Corinthwhen Paul wrote that they were “begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:4).
 
When was the last time you went to church and begged your pastor for the favor of participation somewhere in the church? When was the last time a person, a cause, or an organization touched your heart and you begged them for the favor of supporting them? When has your offering to God cost you something?
 
Abraham would not dishonor Sarah, the mother of nations, by burying her in a cave that cost him nothing. He would also take no chances in losing this precious place; it would be his by right. Abraham was a man who had learned that true love was shown through the sacrifice of one’s own self.
 
Jesus did not dishonor His bride. He bought her at a price. She was His by right. He demonstrated His love for His bride by the sacrifice of Himself. Let us also demonstrate our love for our Savior. “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).
 
Oh Father,
 
That I might humble myself before You and before others and allow you alone to do the exalting. That I might honor You in all that I do, think, and say. Today and forever, might I not consider myself as more highly than I ought, but know that it is only by Your amazing grace that I am able to stand. Might I respect all people and see them all through Your eyes, knowing that You died for all, just as You died for me. Help me to walk in a way that displays Your unconditional love and Your lack of partiality to all people. May I humble myself, that You might be exalted and draw the lost into Your saving grace.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>Faith Isn’t Faith Until It’s Been Tested

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Now it came about after these things,
that God tested Abraham.
Genesis 22:1
 
God does not tempt us, but He does test us. Faith is not faith until it has been tested, and Abraham’s day of testing has come. God calls out to Abraham and asks him to take Isaac, his only son, and offer him as a sacrifice to Him onMt.Moriah.
 
How hard it must have been for Abraham to hear this command from his Lord—to go and sacrifice his promised son as a burnt offering to the Lord. I am sure for a moment it brought confusion to Abraham’s mind, but Abraham had learned who God was, and so he obeyed.
 
Abraham went up to Mt.Moriahto worship the Lord. We see Abraham’s faith when he turns to his young men and says, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you” (Genesis 22:5). Abraham expected Isaac to return with him, and he declared it to be so.
 
He went to be obedient and to offer his son on the altar, as God had commanded. This was a huge step of faith for Abraham, but Abraham knew God had said that through Isaac he would become a great nation.
 
Hebrews 11:19 says that “he considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” As Abraham had contemplated his own body when God said at the age of one hundred he would have a son, he now contemplates the resurrection of Isaac’s body because of the promise given to him by God.
 
Once again Abraham worships God through obedience to his word. Abraham doesn’t argue or delay. God honored Abraham’s obedience at the moment the knife was raised in total abandonment and full devotion to his God. An angel stayed the hand of Abraham, and a ram was provided for the sacrifice.
 
In Matthew 5:28 Jesus declares, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
 
With God it is always about the heart.
 
In Isaiah 29:13 God says, “This people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.”
 
God doesn’t judge us by our outward actions, as man does; He judges our hearts.
 
Abraham did not have to physically sacrifice his son for God and have God prove He could raise Isaac from the dead. God knew Abraham already believed in his heart that He would raise Isaac from the dead. It is said that actions speak louder than words, but in God’s world, the heart speaks louder than both.
 
Oh Father,
 
True worship is about sacrifice and obedience; sacrifice of self—of my wants and my desires. Sacrifice of anything that comes between me and You. Sacrifice of anything I put before You in my life. True love only comes with the sacrifice of self. I can sacrifice all for You only because You first sacrificed all for me. I can live in complete obedience to You and Your Word because I can trust that You will keep Your word. You have proved Yourself to me countless times, just as You proved Yourself to Abraham. Thank You, my Father God, for being my God.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.
Devotional Studies Through the Bible

>Everlasting God

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Abraham planted
a tamarisk tree at Beersheba,
and there he called
on the name of the Lord,
the Everlasting God.
Genesis 21:33
 
We have learned so much about God just from the study of His names. Through His name God reveals to us His attributes. Let us take a close and detailed look at this name of God revealed to us by Abraham in Beersheba. Everlasting God is El Olam in Hebrew— El meaning “strength, mighty,” especially the almighty; Olam meaning “eternity, always, ancient, everlasting, perpetual, beginning of the world, and without end.”
 
The Lord the God of eternal strength. The God who is always mighty. The God who is perpetually powerful. The one who is the great, mighty one from the beginning of the world and is without end. Psalm 90:2 declares, “Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God”.
 
This is our God, the one who seeks us. “There was the true Light which coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (John 1:9–10). God has been calling out to man from the beginning. He has been calling out to all man.
 
He called out to Abram. He calls out to the world. He comes and he enlightens every man. Abraham responded to Him and called on the name of the Lord the Everlasting God.
 
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree, an evergreen. These trees grow tall, and they are strong. They are able to tolerate conditions that destroy other trees. Their roots are able to reach deep into the soil and bring up the salt and water that is needed to sustain its life. By doing this, it is able to eliminate the competition of other plants in its area. It is spread from one place to another by cuttings.
 
God cut Abraham from his home and from his family. He also cut him from the false gods he worshiped. He, however, did not remove Abraham from the world or blind him to the temptations of this world. God did not have to because He knew that the deep-rooted life that He would give Abraham would destroy all competition of all other gods and any temptation he might face.
 
Abraham had learned so much about the One who called him out of theUrof the Chaldeans. This unknown God who spoke to him and gave him this amazing promise of a seed, of a land, had fulfilled His promise. This God who had protected him and provided for him and walked with him every step of the way. This God who is the Everlasting God is the same God that calls us out of the world and into His glorious presence.
 
Abraham’s journey is recorded for us that we too might learn about this unknown God who sent His Son to die for us. This Son “whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” (Hebrews 1:2).
 
This God blessed us with His written Word that we might know and understand who He is and who we are in light of Him. May we never take for granted the opportunity we have to rest in the truths found in the names of our God revealed to us in the Scriptures.
 
God speaks through David in Psalm 69:36, and He says “The descendants of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His name will dwell in it.”

Do you love His name?

“Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised” (Psalm 113:2–3).

 
May we never forget that our God is the mighty one from before the beginning of time and He is without end. Oh, precious one, learn who He is, that you too might live and walk in Him.
 
Oh Father,
 
What a miracle to even be able to call upon Your name. To know that in You and through You and for You, I too am now without end. I am able to forever worship You and call on Your name; one day to even be able to stand with Abraham and worship You with him. My mind cannot even wrap around this truth. Everlasting God, may Your eternal life take deep root in me. May I be so satisfied in You that the desires of this world are destroyed for they cannot compete with You. You are the Creator of time itself and You are not bound by it. You are perpetual, ancient of days, great and good. You are my God, and I worship You.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.